Walk the Pattern
by bambamramfan
Summary: Third generation story about the children of King Martin, some hundreds of years after books 1-5. Books 6-10 did not happen in this world.
1. Chapter 1

The History of the Royal Family of Amber from between "Courts of Chaos" and "Walk the Pattern"

We are family, will it or no.

Dworkin Baremin created the Trumps, stole the Jewel of Judgment from the Courts of Chaos, and drew the Pattern that we all walk with his own blood. He founded Amber, and all the worlds in between Amber and Chaos - our Earths, our fantasy novels, our parallel worlds - are shadows cast by their light. No one has seen Dworkin since the time of Oberon.

King Oberon was the son of Dworkin and the Unicorn, symbol and guardian of Amber. He founded the Royal House, fathered over thirty children, and ruled peacefully but strictly for millennia. He disappeared for much of the Pattern Fall War, passing on rulership to his son Eric, and reappearing briefly at the end. He gave his life to fix the Pattern from the black stain created by his son Brand, who had made a bargain with the Courts of Chaos to usurp power.

In the ensuing catastrophe, Eric died, his son Corwin briefly ruled, and the Unicorn returned the lost Jewel of Judgement, giving it to Oberon's youngest son Random, thereby appointing him as ruler.

King Random's reign was short but glorious, a brief fifty years of continuous success against the Courts of Chaos and restoring order to lands once lost. He died in bed, just as his brother had always warned him. His first son was Martin, born of a dalliance with a princess of Rebma, the reflection of Amber beneath the waves. Officially he had no other children, but unofficially there was a mistress and a daughter. She walked the Pattern as soon as she was able, but emerged… different. She ran into the Shadow and caused so much damage that King Random himself had to run her down and end her. He gave two orders that day: that no one ever mention his daughter again, and that all children of Amber who break be put to a quick and merciful death. It's unclear how much of this is true, but Random never married or reproduced again.

King Martin's reign was long and complicated.

Using jeweler's rouge as gunpowder (the only explosive that will work in Amber), he tried to excavate the caves beneath Kolvir. Instead he found the Fires of Zeron, a goblin city that reflected the innermost desires of everyone who lived in Amber proper. At first he tried to hide and contain this information, but once they had a taste of freedom the goblins and flamekin could not be repressed. So Martin decided to bring them into the world, and make an alliance. He married the princess of Zeron, Orchid, and brought her to his palace. After she gave birth to three children - Esmeralda, Bastian, Locksley, and an unnamed child - she ran off with the Captain of the Guard and was never seen again. There is much debate about whether this marriage, and its issue, was legitimate.

During this time, allies of Amber experienced a growth of industry, as well as cosmopolitan decadence.

King Martin sought guidance with the stars. Tir-na Nog'th by this time rarely touched with Amber but once a century, and so he waited until Amber would meet with its reflection in the sky once more. Until then he would take no bride, and his kingdom slowed, awaiting the next direction they would take. No one knows what was prophesied to Martin when he ascended the moonlit, half-substantial stairs to that city, but he returned with a bride on his arm, already pregnant. Martin and Lady Epona produced two daughters, Serenity and Pearl, and one unnamed son. Epona calmed his uncertainties, and was known for her transcendent beauty and wisdom throughout the land. It was a period of contemplation and hope for all of Amber.

When an assassin from the Court of Chaos killed her, it touched off a war unlike any seen for generations. The fury of the Royal House astounded even Chaos, as Martin and his Shadowkind marched the golden road that led the way to the other side of reality. Weapons and soldiers forged from the Fires of Zeron made the forces of Amber even mightier than expected, and Esmeralda and Bastian showed no less passion in avenging their stepmother than if she had been their own.

The Court of Chaos was prepared, and in the rocky wastelands around the Pits of Chaos, millions of warriors met in a standoff that promised to be the largest battle in the history of reality. Only then, as doomsday loomed, did Martin change his sentiment and offer any terms of peace. He demanded his enemies lay down their arms, and give their most beautiful noble to him as his hostage and his bride, for the next seventy-seven years. No more, no less. The Court conceded, and sent to him Lady Natalya, a spitting image of Martin's aunt Deidre, and a fragile peace was founded.

Natalya was kept in a luxurious tower for the next seventy-seven years. She and Martin had a loveless marriage, but they kept the terms of this paper alliance dutifully. She gave him three children: Ivalyan, Kylar, and Corruption. Only for Natalya, were no children lost to the Pattern. Many retainers in Amber suspected this was because the Court of Chaos still had pure blood from the time of Dworkin, whereas the outsiders and reflections Martin had previously married were unable to withstand exposure to the full force of reality.

When the terms of the marriage ended, Natalya was released. She immediately rode towards her home and was never seen or heard from again. Her children remained in Amber, and have charmed the Royal House by refusing to follow their mother.

His good urges spent, and his vengeful urges quelled, Martin fell into hedonistic indolence. He married a beautiful and strident Empress from Earth, and let her run most of Amber. Everyone agreed she was very tolerable, but she would only live a few years and so was not worth getting worked up about anyway. And yet, despite her human blood, her first daughter Constance was without doubt the most powerful sorceress in Amber of her generation. She read the stars and pulled light down from the heavens. On her maturity, when she finally walked the Pattern, if she emerged with her sanity intact she would be a force to be reckoned with. If. There were many whispers that human blood would not stand a chance before the Pattern, especially after so many recent failures. In order to defy such prejudice, Martin took the audacious step of having a second child before seeing whether the first would even survive her ordeal. And so young Sette was born.

Then, for the fourth time in three generations, the Courts of Chaos attacked. There was nothing stealthy about their assault this time, as they attempted to explode all of mount Kolvir. Only the fierce help of many goblins of Zeron was able to keep most of Amber standing. But Martin and his Empress were both lost in the initial blast.

After a period of mourning for seventy-seven days, the Grand Crusade marched forth to finish off the Courts of Chaos in their entirety. The battles were long and hard, but few demons could stand against the children of Amber in their prime and their rage. There was no official new King, as the potential heirs had agreed to put off their claim until the revenge and security they sought was achieved. (The antiquated concept of primogeniture, the ambiguity of Martin's first marriage, and the circumstances of Serenity's conception all contributed to confusion over who the clear successor would be.)

But what is forged in strife will break when victory is in sight. Some of the children wanted to eliminate the Court of Chaos entirely, while other children insisted on showing pity to their defeated enemy and stopping short of complete destruction. As there was no King (or Queen), the disagreement soon metastasized into arguments over their next ruler. Bastian seized the crown, and insisted on finishing off the ancient enemy, while Pearl controlled the Jewel of Judgment, the one tool capable of doing this, and refused to use it.

The two cabals have danced around each other for ten years now. Some children don't even care who wins, just so long as their family stops fighting. Others have not talked to each other since that fateful day.

And now Constance will Walk the Pattern. If she succeeds, bringing her knowledge of sorcery to the power that is every Amberite's birthright, she will certainly be capable of tipping the balance of power. She has always kept to herself who she sides with, and no one can predict human children really, but it's clear she does not intend to be neutral.

And so, in order to greet her, and to help sway her to their side, and because the previous two form an excuse to see some siblings not seen in a decade of stubbornness, all of you have gathered in this chamber to watch. And wait.

Children of Princess Orchid of the Fires of Zeron

 _Esmeralda_

 _Bastian_

 _Locksley_

Children of Lady Epona of Tir'na-n'ogth

 _Serenity_

 _Pearl_

Children of Lady Natalya of the Courts of Chaos

 _Ivalyan_

 _Kylar_

 _Corruption_

Children of the Empress

 _Constance_

 _Sette_


	2. Chapter 2 - Sette

Sette, child of the Empress

Who are these people?

From reading books in the library, and tales anyone around you can tell, you know you're supposed to be a part of a grand tradition. This exciting family rules time and space, and has generations of melodrama and romantic escapades. Everyone expects you to continue this tradition.

But, you barely know them? You lost your father and mother when you were three, and most of the siblings left home for their war and various missions after that. Bastian stayed in Amber to rule, but never had a minute for a young child. You never felt close to sad Serenity, mooning over a lost past you never knew.

Constance at least, feels like your sister. Dark, severe, clever, intense Constance. She's the only other half-human here, and the only one remotely close to you in age. Seven years means a lot at your age of course. But soon she's about to Walk the Pattern and come of age and become one of Them. A pattern-walker, a true child of Amber, a magician and an epic heroine. Then you'll lose your older sister to a much more interesting life. (Or she'll die, which is an even worse loss.)

Then you'll be all alone in this castle. Left for several years to contemplate your own fate when you participate in this terrifying ritual.

Do you really want that?

It's easy to get lost in the daydream. You are a thirteen year old boy after all. You could join the story of the most important and coolest royal family in existence. You could be a dashing knight or a tragic princess. (You haven't exactly decided your preferred gender yet.) You'd have adventures, with mermaids and star angels and castles. And your elder siblings all at least say they are very loyal to you, so it'd be nice with them having your back?

There's that.

But dear lord, the _pressure_.

You'd be pledging yourself to a family and lineage you barely know. What if you don't like them, what if they are mean to you? What if all the power and responsibility sucks? You'd be expected to fight off Chaos and protect order throughout the universe. You could never have a normal life as just a normal kid.

The trial before Constance could kill her, and you're nowhere near as cool as her. What might it do to you?

And the fights! All those old stories have one repeating theme: the children of Amber are constantly having stupid fights about power and thrones and Chaos and revenge. There was killing and torture and kidnapping and raising armies and _did you mention the killing?_ It sounds horrible, and this generation doesn't seem much better. They've already split into a violent feud over… some political point you can't really comprehend.

The worst possibility is what if Constance dies. You can tell the family is poised on a balance, and she was supposed to decide which side would triumph. If she doesn't live, that duty will fall to you. You'll have to decide a major battle for all of reality, and you barely know or care what it's about.

It feels like they want to slot you into some hole for "what a child of Amber does", whether it fits you or not.

Maybe you could run away instead?

You know you couldn't escape your brothers and sisters of course. But you're only a half-human teenage boy. If you slipped away, they'd probably let you go, and you could make a life for your own. Less epic, but more normal. Settle down with a family on a farm and all. You haven't thought it all out, but there's gotta be some other choice. Some way to live a life and… never walk the Pattern.

But, you admit, you're being offered something everyone in the multiverse wants. Maybe it would be foolish and impetuous to toss it aside. It's _really, really exciting._ You get quivers just thinking about everything you can do out there.

You've been tossing and turning at night, thinking what you'll do. What you might say, at this gathering.

Your bubbly and polite nature hides the roiling interior of an angsty teen. You love poetry and you despise dancing. You've read every book in the library, but you rather be out traveling. You have faint memories of your mother. You're a complex person and not just a little kid!

You hate being pressured. And even unintentionally, your older sibs can bring a lot of pressure. They assume you'll eagerly follow them on their path, and you can't stand that. (Especially Serenity sometimes.)

But maybe you could ask the questions instead. This will be the best opportunity to see who these people really are. What are they fighting over? What are they like? Do you really want to be one of them?

Could work, could work.


	3. Chapter 3 - Bastian

Bastian, son of Princess Orchid

You had to be the good one.

Many options are open to the half-goblin shadow-walking child of Amber. They could revel in the infinite pleasures of all the realms of shadow. They could stalk through forests hunting creatures of legend and feel flesh tear as their sword slid into such beats. They could be nonsensically rebellious and indulge silly philosophies and hopeless revolutions. You in truth would love to do any of those, so long as the spark of your mother the flamekin princess glows in your breast. To imagine what a racket you, mighty of sorcerers and quick of blade, could have gotten up to out there!

But someone has to stay home and be responsible.

Esmeralda was a careless wanderer. Locksley was a pouty brat. Your half-sister Serenity only ever seemed half-there and well at some point you needed to admit that you were the oldest male of the line of King Martin and that meant you had to be king. If a better candidate than you presented themselves, you would have been the first to give up any claim to the title to them and then go off into shadow like your great uncles of old. But none ever did.

So here you are. You learned how your father ruled the court, you played apprentice diplomat with the allies in nearby shadows, you studied the great adversary, the Courts of Chaos, and you worked every day to craft yourself into an image of honor and nobility. Even if your spirit died on the inside for every hour you spent in pointless practice or stuffy ceremony - it is ever the actions that define a man, not what he wishes he were.

When your step-mother Lady Epona was coldly assassinated, you took it as your duty to lead the armies in retaliation. She may not have been your mother, but she was still family, and you certainly felt protective of your sisters Serenity and Pearl who were too young to fight. Chaos needed to be taught a lesson, and you, Esmeralda, and Locksley did an admirable job of it. If your father chose a premature halt to the campaign for a fairly weak diplomatic resolution, that was his right as your liege. You offered no complaint.

You were born to responsibility. You learned responsibility. You did not expect to have it thrust upon you so suddenly as well.

In the immediate aftermath of your father's death, none of your siblings squabbled over who would next be king. You were now united in vengeance, and politics could come later. But someone had to remember to protect the Crown of Amber and the Jewel of Judgment, and as always those mundane details fell to you.

Each of your siblings could indulge themselves in playing lone hero and tasting the blood of their enemies directly. But someone had to manage Amber's vast armies and keep lines of supply and retreat stable. It was boring work - made infinitely worse by how much you wanted to be hacking at the terrorist demons with your sword yourself - but it had to be done and you were better at it than everyone else.

 _It had to be done._

You can think up a hundred reasons *not* to destroy the Courts of Chaos. Pearl's obsession with balance. Locksley's devotion to mercy. Making the demons your vassals. Simple forgiveness. The fact that whoever orchestrated this slaughter is probably long dead under your war machine. The lack of any court that could judge them fairly. The possibility that Amber isn't much better and might have done the same. Their blood relations to you. All of these fancies run through your mind. You would love to be an idealistic bystander who could keep his hands clean by appealing to such philosophical niceties. You don't have that luxury however.

Four wars and countless dead have taught you that it's going to be you or them. If you stay your hand, the future generations of Amber will suffer for your softness. So you can't.

 _Chaos delenda est._

After their armies had been decimated, after Locksley had yelled at you until he was blue in the face, you tired of putting off the inevitable. You knew your siblings would object, that's what their freedom from responsibility meant they could do, it's what would help them sleep at night. But the sooner this was done, the sooner they could get over it. You proclaimed yourself Regent, to make clear that this was an official act, and informed the armies that your final campaign was coming to an end.

Which was right when Pearl took the Jewel of Judgment, and ran off for far shadow. It's the only artifact powerful enough to simply remove the Logram from existence, and without it you are kind of stuck. Committed to genocide but unable to proceed, stuck forever in a defensive position. Damn her little _fit._

You've spent the last ten years at a standstill. You can't stand the sight of some of your siblings - the ones who questioned you and the ones who stand in the middle not wanting to cause a fuss - and you understand why they can't stand you either. You've had a lot of learning to do become a ruler back home. Amber is a city of beauty but duty chains you here more than ever. It's not the same without most of your brothers and sisters, but you've barely had time for them anyway.

Esmeralda and Ivalyan have stayed loyal souls. They're serious minded individuals who understand what must be done, no matter how regrettable. You've asked their help in reacquiring the Jewel of Judgment, but so far the task seems beyond the three of you. They keep in touch less and less and you miss them.

Serenity is lovely, and kind, and all the familial gentleness in the world. She has stayed in Amber, the only other sibling older than the children to do so. But she is soft, and for most of this time you can't stand her indecision on this important matter. It's heartless of you, you know - she's hurting just as much as you - but the gulf between your two personalities is too vast to cross right now.

Constance and Sette are hopefully learning from your example. You barely know Sette, but Constance is at least a very serious minded individual. No matter what her arcane hobbies her, you know she will never flinch from what has to be done. You hope that after she walks the Pattern she will put that practicality onto the side of justice, and help you quelch this rebellious conspiracy.

Then, once this _is_ done, once the greatest threat Amber ever faced is dealt with unto finality, can you place the crown on your head and proclaim yourself king. Or, much better yet, with Amber safe and secure, you can step down and become the craziest, most liberated, wild child in your heart you always wanted to be.

(Siblings, sigh. You remember *all* of your brothers and sisters. You know there was a daughter born before Locksley whose sanity did not survive the Pattern. And you know there was a son after Pearl who fared no better. You don't like thinking about them, and you don't feel comfortable with the decision to kill them. But. A being with no sense of morality who had the power of a royal of Amber would cost the lives of many, many more children out there. And they couldn't be left in a prison easily, any more than it worked on Uncle Corwin. Shadow walkers are impossible to control. They need constant vigilance by someone as powerful as them. If an insane child is left alive, then someone must promise to watch them and devote their lives to babysitting a mad sibling. That's not a duty you can afford, but maybe if the Chaos was destroyed forever you could spend your time like that. Failing that, a quick end and forgetfulness still strike you as the best solution. Ugh. It's really not a subject you like thinking about.)

The Crown of Amber

If a sibling has committed two breaches of etiquette, you may expel them from the room. Doing so will constitute one breach of etiquette in itself.


	4. Chapter 4 - Pearl

Pearl, daughter of Lady Epona of Tir-na Nog'th

No one ever listened to you until you did the unthinkable. Now that's all anyone wants to talk about.

You'll be the first to admit that you've changed your mind several times over the years about what the Most Important Thing in the World Is. But that's okay. As a human philosopher said "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?" It's better to commit your full reason and your full passion to an idea, than to forever hide your light under a bushel because you're not one hundred percent certain.

You're a daughter of the line of Amber, the most puissant family in the multiverse. You're also the daughter of a Lady of Tir-na Nog'th, and that gives you just as much intuition into the workings of the world. You can read people well, you're more observant than people give you credit for, and you care. You care so much about… well, everything. As someone in your position should.

(This seems a lot more fitting than the attitude taken by your older full sister Serenity. She has as much innate wisdom as you, but she only doles it out mysteriously and slowly. You know that everyone likes her better, but it doesn't make her right. You two have a unique responsibility to guide the universe. Who will you help if you never actually share your opinion with anyone?)

Growing up was mostly like the frustration above. You would wake up in the morning with some brilliant insight into how the world worked. You'd ponder it for hours, and then proudly announce it to your siblings at lunch. Esmeralda and Bastian would yawn. Locksley either wouldn't understand or would argue. Serenity would raise timid objections. Kylar and Illyvan would troll you. You'd go to some shadow world to test your insights, with middling success. And then you'd come home, to write about it in your journal and think angry thoughts all night as you failed to get to sleep.

" _Magic is the result of our attempts to rationally understand an irrational world!" "_ All classes deserve to be treated equally!" _"Too much shadow walking is weakening the metaphysical differences between worlds, leaving them homogenous and leaking!" "_ Everything can be categorized into the five elements!" Etc etc.

You weren't happy, but you couldn't imagine living any other way. You were being you, and you would never stop at that. And your family seemed to understand that, and they loved you for your frustrating absurdities. It worked after a fashion, but you could never shake the feeling that all of these ideas and philosophies were just a game to them. Your siblings never really appreciated the stakes of an all-encompassing ideology.

Then the war came.

The shock of losing your father was enough to break you out of a brief flirtation with pacifism at the time. You joined the war against Chaos, wielding symbolic magic and prophecy to understand your foes. And your speeches raised armies on countless worlds against the tyranny of the Courts of Chaos. It was a heady time, and you were surprisingly content to be united in passionate fury with all your siblings for once.

But this did not stop you from seeing reason when the time came. Eventually the war was fait accompli, and all that was left was to decide what to do with the pitiful remains of Chaos. Complete annihilation sat well with you. They had after all, taken both your mother and your father from you. Mercy and compassion would be stumbling blocks to what needed to be done.

But seeing the homelands of Chaos for the first time, you *finally understood*. It was such a mirror your own world. The dark plains and violent stars being such a contrast to your golden fields and twinkling Tir-na Nog'th. Even the Pit of Chaos was clearly an inversion of your Mt. Kolvir. It all made sense.

 _Chaos and Amber existed in balance. The universe needed both to have harmony. Without one or the other, all of reality would soon become homogeneous and disordered._ No matter what evils the Courts of Chaos had done, you could not allow them to die completely.

You strode into camp to explain it all the Bastian, who was in the middle of some debate with Locksley, when you realized you had spent your entire life trying to explain things to your fiery older siblings and they never once listened to you. Not seriously. The fate of reality was too important to risk on their stubbornness, so you just took the Jewel of Judgment (which you had every right to) and strode out of camp and of the entire world before Locksley and Bastian could even look up from their argument. Without this immensely powerful talisman, they wouldn't be able to entire finish off the Courts of Chaos, and balance would reign.

You also couldn't go home, what with being a willful thief, until they calmed down. So you found some distant, beautiful, tranquil valley and waited.

Since then, you've learned to meditate. It's extremely calming and satisfying. Everyone should try it! Meditation has given you great insight into the harmony of the multiverse, and you're more convinced of the importance of balance between Chaos and Amber than ever before. It's not that you aren't loyal to your homeland, it's just that there is an even greater causes to devote yourself to.

And balance reasserts itself. Just like there is a cabal that rules Amber, now you have a cabal in the shadows that is trying to oppose them and bring sanity to the throne. Locksley and Kylar have visited you, and pledged their loyalty in also protecting the fallen power of Chaos. You admit you don't really work well together, but it's been nice feeling on a team again. They don't seem particularly interested in balance and meditation, but well, they'll come around hopefully. The multiverse has a way of working things out.

Your other siblings have reached out to argue you out of your isolation. Bastian says it's wrong to steal such an important piece of Amber. Serenity just wants you to come home and end this feud. For once they are actually engaging with you, and you have the upper hand to make them listen… and you find it only makes you sad.

It's been ten years now, and even you are getting lonely (though you are loathe to tell anyone. You have a point to make with your reclusiveness after all). And now Serenity has reached out to everyone and told them that Constance was due to walk the Pattern. You respected young Constance even as a child, for at least someone who took things seriously and expected the universe to give her answers. You owe her this trip.

Time enough to finally break your (relative) silence. You'll journey back, with the Jewel of Judgment (you can't just leave it lying around), and be reunited with friend and foe alike once more. With luck, you'll finally show your family the light.

 **The Jewel of Judgment**

If the child who holds the Deck of Fate raises the Jewel aloft, all questions they ask must be answered truthfully, to the best of their ability.


	5. Chapter 5 - Serenity

Serenity, daughter of Lady Epona

Time flows differently for a child of Tir-na Nog'th

That's one of two reasons you were conceived the way you were.

Martin ascended the moonlit stair to your world, still in mourning for the betrayal of his first bride and yet full of anticipation for what was to come. Lady Epona met him as he entered the city-that-was-not, and seduced him quickly as only a broken, long-denied man could be.

Then she took him before the three priestesses of past, present, and future and they told him what fate had in store for his dynasty. Their tidings were not good.

A curse had been laid upon the line of Random, King of Amber. A death curse like the one Corwin of Amber had lain long ago, but one infinitely subtler and crueler.

Every pairing of a King and Queen of Amber would be destined to bear one child who could not stand the Pattern. Each King and Queen could have as many children as they wanted, but one would break, and go insane, and be a threat upon all reality until they were put down.

The priestesses knew Martin would take this poorly. They knew he was a compassionate soul, who would rather have no children than be forced to kill one. They knew that in his softness, the line of Amber might die out.

Which is why they made sure you were conceived before they told him.

This is the first thing you remember, for you too have been touched by past and future.

You were always a serious child, one who knew too much of life to have ever been innocent. But you were never cold. When you see a person, you see all the potential futures they could become, and the glowing mass of tangled thread they are now. You've never met a person who wasn't full of uncertainty and knots. It wasn't your duty to untie them and figure out their future for them, but you could not help feeling compassion.

You knew that you saw the world differently than your siblings, but you never forced your viewpoint on them. Prophecy was a burden as much as a gift. And understanding would come to those who needed it.

You loved your little sister Pearl, even if she disagreed with you. She had many of the insights of a priestess of Tir-na Nog'th, and always sought to understand the world, but then she would insist that others share her views. She was… less than eloquent and consistent in this, but you respected her passion, and would always listen to whatever idea she had today.

You adored your baby brother. (He had a name. You dare not breathe it.) He had the softest blonde hair and he danced in the starlight and you read him books about iron beasts that crossed the continent on girded tracks. You saw the brightest futures in his threads. You can not bear to think about them lest you break down crying.

(Did your siblings know that there were shadows of all possible worlds, even reflections of Amber, from years before or years hence? You could still visit a world where he was young and safe, if but a pale shadow of himself. Sometimes you do, and emerge days later, drunk on memories. It never dispels the sorrow.)

You saw your mother's death coming, and after Pearl passed the Pattern, you knew what would happen to him. You prayed and you denied it, but destiny can not be fought.

The assassination of your mother, shortly thereafter, was a cool contrast. A life well lived was ended nobly and would be remembered by the future.

In the war that followed, you stayed home and meditated while your siblings laid waste to hundreds of soldiers of the Courts of Chaos. You were too young and too gentle to fight, of course.

You're not sure what your father was thinking taking another bride, even from the Courts of Chaos. One child of this pairing would be lost to the Veils, and he hated this dark tithe as much as you did. Maybe he thought that the curse was from the Courts, and they would spare their daughter. Maybe he didn't really believe in the prophecy of ethereal soothsayers anyway. Maybe he needed a male heir from a fully un-questioned marriage for his traditional notions of primogeniture no matter the price. Or maybe he just thought he wouldn't care about the get of a Lady of Chaos.

You never talked with Martin about it for seventy-seven years, until their three children - Illyvan, Kylar, and Corruption - had walked the Pattern with their sanity fully intact, and his wife had left the city of Amber with her duty fulfilled.

Your father summoned you to his chambers. He asked you if this meant the death curse was broken. You were silent.

He said that he could think of no reason to tell any of your siblings. To that, you agreed.

You cherished the children born of Natalya, and watching all of them grow up to be the futures you saw in them. Dear carefree Illyvan who tried to convince you to be less serious and share in the joy of the shadow worlds. Troubled but imaginative Kylar. And Corruption, the only sibling by then who thought about arcane matters as much as you did, yet paired it with an indifference to people you could never understand. They were all precious. You could almost forgive your father for choosing to marry again.

Constance was so brilliant, so beautiful, that anyone who met her fell in love with her. You harbored a secret hope that if she walked the Pattern, as the only child of the King and his human Empress, then maybe, just maybe, your family would go easy on her failure. Maybe she would not have to be forgotten. After all, everyone would do anything to protect her.

Your father would do anything to protect her. And so against all expectation, he and the Empress had Sette, giving destiny a chance to delay its price. The priestesses of Tir-na Nog'th were right that he was too soft.

Who knows how long he would have kept delaying, and putting off this cruelty to another child. Human lives are short, after all. But the Courts of Chaos took both lieges from you before either half-human sibling tried themselves on the Pattern. And you can see just as much, if different, possible probabilities in Sette. He too will be glorious, or he too will be mourned deeply.

One or the other, will be lost.

But before you could worry about that, there was the Final War. Terrorists from the Courts of Chaos tried to blow up half of Mount Kolvir, failing but causing much devastation and loss of life regardless. They attacked your city, your _family_ , and took your father from you and that could not be born. It was clear that the Courts of Chaos needed to be put down much more thoroughly than they had in the last war. Even you joined the fray, wielding the magics of shadow and time like a witch out of myth. Entire worlds of Chaos soldiers were frozen forever, while elite warriors aged a lifetime in minutes as you glared at them. You held nothing back in your arcane terror, and even your siblings were surprised, afraid, and grateful for all you did.

There are still temples and academies founded, in places where the public saw you twist reality to your own ends in order to win this war.

You did not know how it would end. You saw the major threads of what could happen. The Courts of Chaos could be destroyed entirely, and the worlds would begin to be rebuilt under the eternal order of Amber, unchecked. Or those poor souls could yet live, with your siblings forever holding hope in Chaos's eventual redemption. Decisiveness was never really your strong suit. You preferred neither outcome, only that your family be united.

Unfortunately Bastian and Pearl had very passionate feelings in the matter. Bastian wanted the Courts destroyed utterly, Pearl believed it would disturb the balance of the universe. Bastian took the Crown of Amber and proclaimed himself Regent, Pearl took the Jewel of Judgment to the far parts of reality, and with it the ability to destroy anything as real as the Pit of Chaos. You cringed to see the fight, and to see your siblings falling into sides and cabals around it. Locksley was set against his sister Esmeralda, Kylar was set against Illyvan, and most of the family split for different shadow realms to grieve and grow bitter.

Only four of you returned to Amber: Bastian to rule, Constance and Sette because they were still young and un-puissant, and yourself because there was no other home you believed in.

It was not enough. Bastian was focused on ruling, and in his insecurity, he dealt with the hard decisions as poorly as your father did. Constance was obsessed with her research. And Sette was afraid of a world he was far too young to understand, but he knew you were a part of it. You tried to play mother to all of them, you tried to reach out to your prodigal brothers and sisters and call them home, but you failed again and again. Let alone trying to get the politically angry ones to address any of their differences and come to some sort of solution. You've barely spoken to any sibling in a year, and the loneliness is crushing you.

This may be your last chance. The whole family must come together for Constance's coming of age. They must support her while she walks the Pattern. Come on guys…. please?

And against all doubt, they came. Maybe there is hope and loyalty in your beloved siblings yet. Now you're nervous and scared and expected to play host for this gathering. They might all sit in silence and glare at each other for an hour and a half, or worse, they might argue the whole time. This would not be worthy of Constance. You want them to talk and bond and remember the family you used to be. You want, maybe, a brief moment of togetherness before they go away again. (And if they must discuss the issue of Chaos, you want them to actually decide the matter and get it over with.) It has to be _perfect_.

You are not a good social host. You aren't Kylar or Locksley, you don't know how to keep a conversation light and going.

But you will try, just this once, out of desperation if nothing else.


	6. Chapter 6 - Locksley

Locksley, son of Princess Orchid

You know what it is to be voiceless.

So you speak for those who cannot.

It's hard being the youngest of three fireborn children, especially of the royal line. It's not enough to be the brightest star in the sky when the sun and moon combine to blot you out.

By the time you were born, your father King Martin had settled that Bastian would be the perfect heir. It was nothing so formal as an announcement (nothing involving his first wife, the Zeron princess Orchid, was formal), but it was clear he favored him. Bastian was after all, the ideal princely son. He hungered after knowledge of the court, and politics, and ruling, and honor, and the military, and he acquired this knowledge not by reading books but by being *everywhere* and watching every occasion. He would ask questions without a care for protocol, and everyone would answer them as if his curiousity was wise and incisive. You were in awe of Bastian.

You would ask questions, and your brother would condescendingly say the answer was obvious and already answered, or the courtiers would ignore you, or your father would change the subject. Martin loved you, but there was no room between him and his eldest son. Bastian could always turn a room against anyone, with his charm and his political insight, and a far-too-grownup part of you worried that if you were ever a threat to his position, he would turn everyone against you. You were eight by the time you gave up trying to earn dad's attention.

But a royal child could have plenty of fun, even when not playing politics. You were heir to a fantasy kingdom, you should wield a sword and hunt wild MONSTERS and laugh in the face of danger! Where other children would have to be satisfied with playing pretend, you could go to any world you imagined!

Well, you could if your mother or another of the line of Amber took you. But your mother was busy with your sister, the oldest, Esmeralda. By the time you came along, your over-enthusiastic waving of a sword embarrassed the only-slightly-less-immature Esmeralda, who was obsessed with the grace and stoic focus of swordsmanship. And your mother, wild creature that she was, bonded with that spark of violence and took her on many camping trips, just the two of them, taming the wild with their blades. (You went once. You managed to burn down your tent in an accident involving magnifying spells and fireflies. Orchid never chewed you out, but she couldn't be bothered to watch over your future kerfluffles either.)

You sulked and raged at your parents, but they hardly noticed. You couldn't blame them really – you loved to dabble in politics or martial arts, and a hundred other arenas, but you never felt the consistent devotion that either of your older siblings did. You were still finding yourself, even if you were stuck in their shadows.

Then your mother left. And then your father withdrew and started worshipping moon prophecy and he had even less time for his rambling son who didn't even know who he was.

You eventually took your place in court of course, and by now you're basically the intellectual or physical equal of either Bastian or Esmeralda. You're a bold, righteous speaker and you're a berserk warrior who never holds back until he collapses in exhaustion. You claimed just as many lives as anyone in the Final War. The line of succession, so important to previous generations of Amberites, barely gets any credit anyway because of how many doubt the legality of the king's first marriage. So you're for all intents and purposes, equal with your older two siblings. Hell, you have seven siblings even younger than you.

But inside, you still feel like the tiniest star in the sky.

(You adore your younger siblings, of course, and would die to protect them. That's what family is. But they are not of Lady Orchid. They're either withdrawn, or lazy, or flaky. They show sparks of brilliance and you treasure those moments, but do they hold a candle to the bonfire that is your heritage? (Your taste in metaphors tends to be single minded.))

You were there when the first war came, when zealots from the Courts of Chaos assassinated Lady Epona. It was the first time the three children of Orchid and Martin stood united, and you laid waste to your enemies with cruel mercy. It did not hold off the old enemy forever – but nothing lasts forever. That war held the forces of Chaos back for a hundred years, and it was well worth it. Father was right to end it with a peace try when he did. And because he did, you got your wonderful (if weird) siblings in Illyvan, Kylar, and Corruption.

When Martin and his Empress were killed by the terrorist attack on Mount Kolvir, you were heartbroken, and nihilistic, and despondent, but you were not surprised. A hundred years of peace was a long time, and you had always known it had to end eventually. You picked up your sword, and led the first charges on the demons and shadowkind who had been ready to invade the world of Amber in your moment of weakness. You were a proud child of Amber in grieving fury who would give no one cause to doubt his loyalty!

(They doubted your loyalty anyway.)

And after a long, grueling struggle the armies of the Courts of Chaos were scattered, and driven back to their homeworld. You had pushed the tide down once again, and that was all you could do. Nothing is forever after all, except maybe death.

But Bastian was not satisfied. He had gotten so wrapped up in his world of black and white that he wanted to eliminate the black. He demand every child combine their might, and destroy the Courts of Chaos entirely. He wanted to cleanse the multiverse of the only real force different than you.

This… you could not tolerate. Those remaining generals down there, they were people. They had families. They may have supported horribly cruel plans against you and other worlds, but frankly, these were no worse plots than your politicking siblings were capable of. Amber may fight to defend herself, but Amber does not genocide.

So you did the bravest thing you ever had, you argued with Bastian at the height of his power. You doubted you could really win the argument, but someone had to defend the pathetic remnants of Chaos.

After a couple brief, absurd arguments, he ignored you and declared himself Regent with the right and responsibility to make decisions like this. You were too shocked at his arrogance to say anything for a second, and the moment was gone. No one cared what you thought even enough to engage with you. You had failed an entire race of people and now they faced complete destruction.

Then Pearl – drippy, flaky, temperamental, _sweet, fantastic_ Pearl who had always been ranting about incoherent philosophies you barely understood – took the Jewel of Judgement and left without a word to explain herself. Without that jewel, the Pit of Chaos could not be destroyed, and so she ended the war with a single action.

She had shown the way. You left too, to explore the vast worlds between Chaos and home, while tempers calmed down and some people got their heads screwed on straight.

Since then, you met up with Pearl to pledge your agreement. She is less invested in the personal aspect of "genocide is evil, yo" and preached to you about some mystical balance between Amber and Chaos, and how both had to be preserved for the sake of the other. Well, you've seen a lot of things in your time as a wanderer, but no magical harmony of the cosmos. You were grateful for her actions, of course, but didn't really feel that she listened to you.

The two of you did meet Kylar, second child of Lady of Natalya, the former hostage-ambassador of the Courts of Chaos. He was very enthusiastic about helping your cabal, if fairly canny about what he was up to. You suspected he just felt remaining loyalty towards his mother's side of the family - but that was okay. Love for family is what stops us from being monsters to each other after all.

There was only so much conspiring you could do with your two siblings. With another at your side, maybe you could overthrow the Crown, but for now you skulked and waited.

An entire multiverse groaned for freedom, and you listened. 

You were a French peasant leading medieval knights. You incited slave rebellions on tropical islands. You sabotaged construction companies from polluting the home of sentient lichen. You wrote pamphlets and gave speeches and built tall walls to defend the defenseless.

There were victories, and there were many deaths and losses. You expected no less. These shadow fights were satisfying at least, a lot more satisfying than the irresolvable knot you could never fix at home. For ten years they distracted you, and let you forget your utter failure.

And then Serenity called you home. Constance needed your help, and even if it meant slinking back under the gaze of disapproving siblings, you could not let her down.

A word on kings.

You would rather there was no king, and the Crown of Amber were smashed into a thousand pieces.

Given the impossibility of that, you would rather you wear the Crown so you could guarantee it was not misused.

Given the ridiculous of anyone accepting that, well, Pearl is currently in agreement with you. You think she's cold-hearted and logical, but there's worse things to have in a monarch.

But you'd rather avert genocide than choose the King from one of your own. So if a deal exists where Chaos is spared and someone less stubborn than Bastian but still on… that side of things were King, you could accept it. Someone like Ivalyan might be the least controversial choice. You could live with that.


	7. Chapter 7 - Esmeralda

Esmeralda, daughter of Queen Orchid

A king is as a king does.

You are the oldest child of King Martin of Amber, and you have a duty because of that. A king's duty is to slay evil wherever it stands.

If there's one thing you learned from your dearly departed mother, it's that the doing matters. Who wears a crown or sits on a throne or is acclaimed by the courtiers is a matter of politics. You once lamented that as a daughter that was unlikely to ever be you, but your mother thought the solution to that sort of moping was to ride out into the shadow and kill some very large beasts.

It was, uh, fun. But more importantly, it was real. Destroying a threat to Amber felt right, in the way that preening before court never did.

Your mother was very unlike you in other ways - too selfish and unpredictable - but you treasured that wildness that would never stay caged. She taught you the sword, and the mace, and makeshift weapons, and how to live in the forest, and all the proper mother-daughter bonding for a princess of Amber.

When she ran off with the Captain of the Palace Guard, well, you were the least surprised. You tried to be a good role model for Bastian and Locksley, but once your father found a new mother for them you felt that was out of your hands.

You lived instead, in the shadows. You were a hunter of evil and a ranger who strode through darkness. You fought on walls that stood between civilization and marauding hordes. Your father gave you the family heirloom Grayswandir, and you wielded it proudly in memory of your great uncle Corwin ever since (though to be honest, you felt you had more in common with your great uncle Benedict.)

And then Lady Epona died, felled by a wicked servant of Chaos. Her daughters were not of age or temperament to fight, but you and your full siblings took up the cause with all the passion of flamekin children. Fighting the Courts of Chaos through the shadow, on your terrain, felt good and right. You stopped only when your father broached peace, and only because you respected his right to draw limits on his grieving.

You disliked his new wife, Lady Natalya, intensely and stayed away from Amber entirely during her residency there, returning only for the Pattern rites of Illyvan, Kylar, and Corruption. You saw all three siblings growing up as they spent a great deal of time away from Amber as well, but all seemed too irresponsible for your taste. But that was understandable and okay, as they did not have your duty.

And then the Courts of Chaos struck again, nearly destroying half the city *and* your ancestral homeland of Zeron *and* killing your father and his human wife in the process. That was *it*. The darkness had to be eradicated entirely. Over the past three generations the Courts of Chaos had dealt grievous blows to Amber four times, they would never ever stop.

All of your siblings were united in this assault, and your victories were swift and merciless. When your armies reached the other end of reality, you and Bastian knew exactly what needed to be done. The Jewel of Judgment could be used to unravel the Logram (their version of the Pattern) and collapse the Pit of Chaos, ending all Chaos forever. They would do no less to you.

But then your goddamn brother Locksley started *arguing* with Bastian. You couldn't even understand what he was saying you were so surprised. And then Bastian proclaimed himself Regent and ordered Pearl to hand over the Jewel of Judgement and then she stormed off and suddenly the war had stopped.

Politics. It sucks. Let Bastian have the task of dealing with these squabbles. You swore loyalty to him as Regent until a King was formally proclaimed. And then you knew there would be chaos to stalk once more.

For if the Courts of Chaos were not to be eliminated, but their forces were scattered, that meant they would be popping up everywhere, infesting and invading nearby worlds in their senseless rampage.

Grayswandir has bled many, many foes since then. You've hunted wolf-creatures under cloudless skies, and learned how to cure yourself of their diseased bites. You've patrolled rivers for the spirits of ancient kings riding skeletal horses whose scream ends all sleep. You've made grim courts of other soldiers, men and women who lost their entire family to the darkness and have nothing left to do but slay as many servants of Chaos as they could before their time ended.

Sometimes you fight bandits, or evil tyrants, or primal beasts from beyond time who take no sides in any war.

And one time you fought your mother. She had held up a caravan and was trying to steal their gold and horses. You didn't begrudge her that, such brute thievery was in her nature, but these travelers would be stranded and banditry was law-breaking, so here you were. And she took no mercy on you just because you were her kin.

You sword clashed against her spear. Your foot connected with her shin, and her shoulder with your teeth. It was a good fight, one of the best you had had in years. You could tell she enjoyed it even more, laughing to feel a real challenge, to see her daughter fully grown. You gave her every chance to flee and she never took them. Honestly, it could have ended either way. Maybe in some shadow, she broke your arm, and rode off with her prizes, having taught you a lesson in humility.

But it ended with your sword in her chest. And that was the end of Princess Orchid. She smiled as she went, and you hugged her one last time. You sent the caravan off, and buried her by the side of the road, planting some flowers and praying over her grave.

You are still dealing with this, and have not yet told anyone. All your siblings know is that you continue to patrol the lands near the darker side of reality.

Occasionally, Bastian tries to get you to work together more. You, he, and Lady Natalya's firstborn son Illyvan are the most loyal children of Amber, still dedicated to wiping out Chaos entirely. Your side controls the Crown of Amber, but without the Jewel of Judgment there's only so much you can do. So you conspire to find Pearl and take it from her, but hopefully without any loss of life for any of your siblings. So far.

(You don't particularly respect Illyvan , who seems lazy and obsessed with women and drink. And Bastian tries but sees everything only from the perspective of within Amber, not understanding the many worlds of shadow he rules over too. This is why you largely work alone.)

The duty to protect takes many forms however. You've only rarely met Constance, the oldest daughter of your father and the human Empress, but Serenity told you over Trumps that she was soon to walk the Pattern. You should return home and sit watch while she does. And if Constance is impressed by this display of familial loyalty, and is convinced to join her more responsible siblings in their desire to slay the last remains of evil, then all the better.

And if not… siblings, sigh. You remember *all* of your brothers and sisters. You know there was a daughter born before Locksley whose sanity did not survive the Pattern. And you know there was a son after Pearl who fared no better. You don't like thinking about them, and you don't feel comfortable with the decision to kill them. But. A being with no sense of morality who had the power of a royal of Amber would cost the lives of many, many more children out there. And they couldn't be left in a prison easily, any more than it worked on Uncle Corwin. Shadow walkers are impossible to control. They need constant vigilance by someone as powerful as them. If an insane child is left alive, then someone must promise to watch them and devote their lives to babysitting a mad sibling. That's not a duty you can afford, but maybe if the Chaos was destroyed forever you could spend your time like that. Failing that, a quick end and forgetfulness still strike you as the best solution. Ugh. It's really not a subject you like thinking about.


	8. Chapter 8 - Ivalyan

Ivalyan, son of Lady Natalya

It has not escaped your notice that you are the oldest male child of a fully recognized marriage of the previous king of Amber.

It has not escaped your notice that you are the oldest child of a high-ranking noble of the Courts of Chaos.

It has not escaped your notice that you are extremely adept at any practical skill you happen to try, especially in the martial and sorcerous domains.

You just spend your time desperately wishing it had escaped _everyone else's_ notice.

You have nothing against kinging itself, but everything else around being a king repels you. You read the history of your family two generations ago, you've heard the tales directly from those who were there like Martin or Uncle Benedict. Your family was ceaselessly trying to kill each other, capture each other, torture each other, and other horrible things. Most particularly towards those who were vying for the throne themselves. You never wanted to be the cause of that, and you *definitely* did not want to be the target of that.

Everyone in court assumed you would side with Chaos in any disputes due to familial loyalty, so you were always the loudest to speak against them. The standards were always twice as high for the children of Natalya. Your other full siblings, Kylar and Corruption, had the luxury of being defensive of their mommy or high-minded indifference, but not you. If you ever once said a peep of sympathy for the demons and malefactors at the other end of reality, everyone would say "Oh he's just saying that. He wants to be King of Amber and sell us out to the Courts of Chaos and then become undisputed ruler of the entire multiverse."

So you became the most reliable voice of militarism against Chaos, and not a nuanced or thoughtful one. Of course, Chaos is deceptive and tricky. so no matter how much you acted like a loyal Amberite, some would suspect a long con by you (or by your mother, one you weren't even aware of?)

It was insufferable. And it's not like you believe in sexist notions of primogeniture, or at all consider Martin's marriage to the flamekin princess Orchid illegitimate. But some people always would, and they would always try to use you as their catspaw as the True Heir of Amber. People would notice that you had such a… regal bearing, and were so good with people, and chess too! And then would come the conspiring, and if you didn't stop it, then the killing. Terrible, just terrible. You loved your siblings!

So you played the flake. You learned that if you tried to stay avowedly neutral of any disputes, that just set you up as a "new side", so you generally joined the most boring conservative side as a boring but loyal lieutenant. And you would be completely useless. Which was fine, because you didn't really care about any of these throne room intrigues anyway. Bastian or Esmeralda would be a fine ruler regardless, or any of your siblings, you guessed.

You read about King Random a lot. You wish the Unicorn would show up and anoint a ruler directly so all the arguments would finally stop. Except what if she chose you? Shudder.

Fortunately, as a Prince of Amber, there was a lot to distract yourself with while pretending to be a playboy. The sensual ladies of nearby kingdoms, and their handsome knights too. ("Nearby" to a Prince of Amber applies to the the fifth dimension as well.) You loved games of chance and sport, but you found winning games of strategy to be somewhat embarrassing. You would build giant palaces just to catch the sunrise over your favorite priestess's bare shoulder. You loved roses and paintings and gems. And spirits and powders and whatnot. You took all your siblings on midnight excursions to get their first drink, or take in tragic theater. You were the fun brother, and they loved you for it.

And then your father and stepmother died, and the war came, and there was nothing but grim determination from all of you. You did more than your share of demon slaying, and the fury you felt marching down towards the Pits of Chaos was truly genuine. You impressed many with your conquests, and for the first time you didn't care what that meant. You were grieving, and it was horrible, but your family was united in trust and that was all that mattered.

You hadn't really thought what would happen at the end of that road, but when Bastian insisted on destroying everything of Chaos - the pits, the Logram, every living member of the Courts, their entire planet - you nodded and went along. And then Pearl objected, and she refused to use the Jewel of Judgment, and Bastan put on the Crown of Amber and ordered her to, and all the infighting began before the war was even over. Once the immediate military threat from Chaos was disarmed, and it was clear the standoff amongst your family would not be resolved, you swore fealty to Regent Bastian, said you would be available to help him at his pleasure via the Trumps, and then got the hell out of there without waiting to see if he said anything in response.

Where? Anywhere. Just not the pit of Chaos, and not Amber. You had infinite shadows between to choose from.

You spent a while at a dance academy, learning to enjoy the flow of your own body. From there you took in fine performances, and delightful evenings with the rest of your company.

You became an inventor who flew around in a suit of sentient armor. That was great fun! Until one of the many women who wanted to sleep with you turned out to be servant of the Courts of Chaos, offering you power and revenge. You ran again.

You made your way playing poker on cruises between worlds.

Occasionally Bastian would send you a request - fight some demon or organize some alliance - and you'd respond… slowly. Ineffectively. Never disloyal, but you were too unreliable and too much effort to be worth the bother. You think sometimes he just reached out because he was lonely. That must have really sucked for him, but the cold reality of the throne was exactly what you were running from. More and more Trump contacts went unanswered.

(You were terrified of even speaking to any of your siblings who wanted to prevent the destruction of Chaos. What if they tried to woo you, after all? Besides Pearl you barely even know who is on that side and you actively avoid finding out. Though you're certain Kylar is getting herself up to trouble somehow. And, political convenience aside, you do think that Bastian is _right._ Chaos has committed too much evil and havoc to your world to be kept around, waiting to see how they fuck with your family again. You just don't want to argue with anyone about it.)

So that's been the life. Unimaginable pleasure. Running from any responsibility or dark powers. (Esmeralda is the third member of the ruling cabal. She sneers at you for not helping out to fight servants of Chaos more. You'd be fine killing them. It's when they try to court you that causes you to keep your distance from that end of reality.)

((You would not be fine killing your own mother, you think. Your feelings about your mother are unresolved to say the least. She abandoned you in Amber and left you to bear the brunt of all the court intrigues, but it's not like you don't understand why. She's a creature of Chaos, but, she's your mother.))

Everything was calm at least, And then the Devil came to tell your worst fears.

You knew that Dworkin Baremin is supposed to this founding hero of your family, who established the Pattern of Amber and magically intervenes in times of great need. What no one told you is that he's _also_ a batshit crazy old hermit who doesn't explain himself and acts more like an agent of chaos than anything else.

In this case he found you (you don't know how), and he said that you must be concerned how without his expertise no one was making Trumps for new members of the royal family anymore (you had never really considered this before, you sheepishly realized.) He offered that he would come back and help, if the family could stabilize, and united under some suitable ruler, like you.

Dworkin was, you remembered, also a noble of Chaos. You knew a goddamned trap when you saw one. It didn't matter if this was a plan to keep Chaos blood on the throne, or a way of disrupting the ruling alliance, or other political schemes you couldn't even think of. Any option was terrible for you and your wellbeing. You brushed him off politely, and found some place to hide and relax, at least until the dry heaves stopped.

You _definitely_ didn't want to tell anyone else, but you did want to check in with the others, to see if they had received similar offers or any other weirdness that could explain this bizarre overture. You were pondering that, when you got Serenity's invitation.

All told, you're relieved to be going back to Amber now. It doesn't draw attention like going back on your own, and it should be a friendly, uncontroversial gathering. Everyone wants to help Constance, of course. After that, well a nice reception with pie and punch. And after that… well you don't know where you'll go, home or abroad. Best not to plan life too far in advance.


	9. Chapter 9 - Kylar

Kylar, son of Lady Natalya

Everybody knows that Lady Natalya of the Courts of Chaos gave birth to no issue who broke before the Pattern.

Most believe this is because her blood was more primal and closer to the demonic essence that forms the base of reality.

In fact, it was because her love was pure and true.

And true love _cheats_.

* * *

You had a normal enough childhood, for a prince of Amber. You were a little scamp whose smile brought a gleam to her father's eye, and whose pranks caught a slight raise of the eyebrow from her mother. You loved the stories of the other worlds, and could never get enough of visiting them with your father or your older brother Ivalyan.

You were as ready to walk the Pattern as any of the bloodline of Amber had ever been. But no one is ever prepared enough.

You had trouble from the First Veil. So many potential futures, how could you choose? (Choosing was never your strong point.) Your pace got slower and slower and you couldn't focus and in your head was a constant drumming. The shadows were all so beautiful how could anyone give up on any of them. Red seas and pink skies and octarine stars swirled in your vision. By the Second Veil you were lost. You saw the different ways you could fit into each world and it was just too much for you. The people of a thousand planets cried for you and sometimes they called you master and sometimes they called you doctor and you could not tell which was which. You knew that these would be your last moments, that you would be killed and forgotten as soon as you left the Pattern, so you gave in fully to the madness. A hundred personalities were born and died as you glimpsed through every dimension, and you played pipes at the center of it all. You didn't break entirely, you didn't die, but you were gloriously reborn as something truly beautiful like nothing else had been before.

You passed the Final Veil with a laugh, and exited the Pattern, collapsing in crazed exhaustion before a room full of people who had two hours ago sworn to murder you in this circumstance. Let them try!

But they were all still. And your mother, who had been allowed out of her tower for this one occasion, got up from her seat and strode to your side.

"No child of mine is being sacrificed to arrogant bureaucrats."

This high noble of Chaos had placed several tricks around the city of Amber during her imprisonment that would allow her to sneak by or wield unstable powers. Here, she could stop time, if only briefly. She offered you no further help, just time to collect yourself and cast a few glamours around your bleeding cuts and singed hair. Oh, and to reforge your newly shattered personality. By the time your mother had taken her seat again, you looked composed and triumphant.

Time restarted. You grinned like a cat and strode into into the arms of your family like a lord of all creation.

You wanted some distance from your family after that, understandably. You didn't want to give yourself away. And, as much as you loved them, you cringed at feeling like an impostor they would kill in a second. You needed some time to figure out who you were now, and to perfect your masks before facing their constant inspection.

Fortunately, everyone knew "As soon as Kylar can walk the shadows, there's going to be no stopping him." You visited every kingdom, plane, ethereal paradise, and bubbles of private reality. And along the way, you found yourself.

The multitude of voices in your head eventually coalesced into two relatively strong ones. Both of them are reckless and cunning, both are passionate and noble. One is full of ambition and wants to see all bow before her. The other is independent and ever flees the results of his meddling. They talk to each other, or take over in waves, or do all sorts of things. Neither personality is stupid and they don't give themselves away by blurting out foolish things, and really it's a pretty happy existence inside your head.

You came back to Amber eventually, and took up the ancient family role of troublemaker. You played your tricks, and shrugged responsibility, and were overall mildly rebellious, and your father and siblings just threw up their hands at this black sheep. It was an extremely convincing mask.

With your mother it was different, obviously. You rarely had private conversations with her, but when you did, the ambitious side of your personality came out. She and the Courts of Chaos were still plotting something big, and she had half the security of Amber riddled like swiss cheese with her magical traps. She wanted a coup, one that would put you or your brother Ivalyan on the throne, and to end the eternal struggle between Chaos and Amber decidedly in her favor. You were uninterested, but you played along just so she would teach you all of her tricks and deceptions. And because letting this mask out was just too much fun.

(She thinks you would be a good king, but that may be flattery as much as anything else. Besides royal responsibility does not sit well with your nature. If Chaos really wants one of their own on the throne, you think the likeliest possibility would be your mellow and weak-willed older brother, Ivalyan. He even has the best claim to the throne from certain legal perspectives, but mostly you think it would hilariously humble the more reactionary Amberites, to have almost destroyed Chaos and then bend the knee to the oldest child of the infamous Natalya.)

And then she left. And your father married a human woman. And there was Constance, who seemed wise for her age and never judged you. And there was young Sette who you ever felt protective of. And then there was the Attack, the one that took your father from you.

You don't know if that was your mother's plan or not, but you were fed up with the Courts of Chaos then. There were trillions of shadow worlds between themselves and Amber to conquer and make their plaything, but they had to fuck up your home. Fight across a thousand worlds yes, but leave this one alone!

Your joined your siblings in the march towards the Courts of Chaos, and surprised them with just how many armies were ready to answer to your banner. No one expected how quickly worlds would fall before the storm of your fury. Your path of destruction would show mother and her retinue what _real power_ looked like.

It was good to let loose. Too good. You felt like you had been holding that in ever since you stumbled from the Pattern. You were just wondering if you had gone too far, when your brother Bastian wanted to annihilate all of Chaos forever. With the Jewel of Judgment and the Crown of Amber he could do it, too.

 _That_ was too far. Those people down there were your family, and one of them had saved your life. And an entire multiverse ruled by just Amber, would be just as dreadfully cruel as the Courts having total power. Locksley objected, Bastian ignored her, you were about to interfere dramatically if you had to, but sister Pearl - drippy, detached Pearl - took the Jewel of Judgment and walked off into Shadow, leaving your family agape.

You haven't gone home since then. You've met with Pearl and Locksley and plotted how to take power a few times. It's not that any of you like Chaos or hate Amber, but there have to be limits to Amber's retribution and Regent Bastian will hear none of it. So you've come up with some schemes, but they rarely bear fruit. Locksley is too direct, and Pearl is too unconcerned, for running in the same league as you. You work better without them.

You visited the defeated, reduced Courts of Chaos, and their servants hiding throughout the lands, to see what they had to offer. Honestly you're not too impressed by them. You like freedom and unpredictability and mischief and all the things chaos stands for. But most of the time they come off like just another bunch of aristocrats, feudal and obsessed with rank and power. To you, chaos is a mother's love cutting through cruel tradition. To them, chaos is explosions.

You found your mother. She's still alive, even after the war. She says the attack that almost collapsed Kolvir mountain wasn't her idea, and you don't know whether you believe her, but you also don't care. She was warm and she accepts you even if she wants you to be a soldier that you are not. And despite her calculating pose, she is lonely and desperate. She misses her children, but also worries that your two half-siblings are as likely to kill or or turn her into Bastian, as they are to greet her as a mother. You haven't spoken much to Ivalyan or Corruption since the war, but they've said nothing to you to make her fears sound unjustified.

It's all very terrible and you took out your angst on several planets. No not that you blew them up, but you distract yourself with solving their problems and the results are often, uh, interesting.

Some entire worlds worship you as the trickster-bear god. Others whisper your name as a savior who trips up the mighty. You bring inventions centuries ahead of their time and use them to amaze and astound the masses, with the same childish glee you grew up with.

You think you've done more good than harm. You think more people are alive because of your shenanigans than are dead because of your mistakes. You really think so.

Which brings you to now. Serenity contacted you via Trump to let you know about Constance's gathering. You almost didn't go, but maybe you can knock some sense into your siblings. Maybe when Constance exits the Pattern she'll join your little cabal and then you could really do some damage. Maybe she'll need everyone she can get to be there, hoping for her in solidarity, while she walks this cruel initiation ritual.

Maybe she deserves to have someone waiting for her when she comes out, if she comes out… wrong, like you did so long ago.

Trump of Lady Natalya:

You may give one of your siblings a trump card that allows them to visit Lady Natalya with or without her permission.


	10. Chapter 10 - Corruption

Corruption, son of Lady Natalya

*Somebody* has to be making new Trumps.

* * *

What makes the family of Amber special is not the winner of political fights, or whether they are more ruthless or smarter than anyone else, but their special connection with the regalia of one of the twin poles of reality: the Jewel of Judgement, the Pattern, the Trumps. You knew from a young age that using and understanding these is infinitely more important than displays of force or personal schemes (and this had little to do with the realization that you were bad at either of those.)

Everyone knows Dworkin Baremin drew the original Trumps, and continued making them for the children of Oberon, and he even made one for Martin during his involvement in the Pattern Fall War. After Oberon died, no one saw Dworkin again, and this made the kings of Amber rest easier actually because of how easily the unpredictable old man could tip the balance of any political fight.

But Martin had eight children before you who successfully walked the Pattern, and upon each's completion Martin had a Trump with full their portrait on it, ready to be inserted into everyone's deck. You watched enviously as your older two siblings received this, and assumed Martin explained to them in private where the new card came from. You could imagine a wealth of possibilities: Dworkin still lived in Amber, secretly producing greater works than ever. Dworkin had taught your father his ways of painting before he disappeared. Or perhaps Dworkin had drawn all of these at the dawn of time, seeing into the future of your family, and they were slowly doled out through the ages.

Turns out, none of your siblings bothered to ask. After you successfully emerged from the Pattern, your father was surprised you had any interest at all. He said he would tell you, but he first had to teach you.

Thus began your short tutelage under Martin, King of Amber. Constance – your younger sister - joined you, precocious as hell and a very serious study. You both learned some elements of symbol and relation. It was confusing, but very, very interesting.

You and Constance learned very differently. You took a more holistic, interpretative approach to these tools of power. You wanted to know what they *said*. You were more interested in the abstract theory behind them. Constance was the empirical scientist to your artist, the practical one to your imagination. You both detested people though, and so despite your difference, you had more in common with each other than with any other siblings in Amber. It was a great credit to Martin's breadth, or his vagueness, that he could teach both of you and you each would claim he supported your view of the high art.

None of your siblings besides Constance understood what a tragedy it is that Martin was taken from you before he could teach you more. The entirety of the supreme knowledge of the cosmos may be lost forever, due to a petty, stupid plot by your mother's friends.

(No one was sure if Lady Natalya was involved in the devastating attack on Amber and Zeron, but Bastian and the others certainly wouldn't wait to find out. Other than your fury at the shallowness and pointlessness of the Courts of Chaos – traits which both sides of your family possess – you have zero interest in their political squabbles. Amber could destroy Chaos, Chaos could try to rule Amber, none of it matters as long as someone keeps the secrets of Dworkin alive. You took part in the initial reprisals, mourning your father, but were apathetic when Bastian and Pearl had their split about what to do at the end.)

With Martin gone, you scoured Amber just to see if Dworkin was secretly lurking in some prison cell. You didn't find him, but you did find leading clues to some artistic mastermind who had left Amber for the wild shadows beyond. You figured your only hope, besides reconstructing all this knowledge yourself, was that Dworkin or someone was out there and you could find them. You talked with Constance, who wanted to continue studying in the library until she walked the Pattern herself. Then, she would see what to do next (she certainly always played her options close to the vest.)

Of course, with Martin gone, there might not be any Trump waiting for Constance when she exits. This did not leave you much choice.

You spent the next ten years on a lonely journey, learning the secrets of the shadow. You followed clues of the reclusive mastermind, and they led to strange planets of beauty and tragedy where you immersed yourself in the high art. Or you would give up on him and study the nature of painting and connection and sympathetic magics, only to stumble on the path of where your predecessor had tread.

You learned the Dworkin was originally a child of Chaos, and that those Courts had reigned long before Amber. But with millennia of untrammeled power, the Courts had never done anything with it. It took his heresy to create a way of interpreting the chaos, giving definition to the many shadows that previously floated untethered. The Pattern is a way of understanding the multiverse, and the Trumps are a way of understanding the Pattern, and your family is then…?

Deeper and deeper you dug. You painted a thousand images with your own blood, hoping they would jump to life like the infamous Lighthouse of Cabra, but never to any luck. In your dreams you see that ghostly mastermind haunting you, gaunt eyes and wizened hair, watching you for your progress. Does he want you as an apprentice? Is he laying a trap to replace you? Maybe one day you will walk through a mirror and he will come out on the other side. You might consider that sacrifice even worth it in the grand scheme of things, if you weren't such a damn egotist. *You* would understand Dworkin's secrets, and you would interpret reality as you saw fit. If there was to be another Trump, then you would draw it.

You have drawn it, in fact. The portrait of Constance is the most perfect, poignant piece of artwork you have ever laid eyes upon. You put everything you had into every stroke of perfection. You weep to look at it, and can only pray the next one will be easier.

You have no idea if it will work. Maybe it will slip into the other decks without a problem. Or maybe a card will mysteriously appear from the aether the moment Constance exits successfully (you can't for a minute imagine her failing the Pattern.) Or it could be a giant failure, and the line of Amber will end tonight, in a very real albeit only metaphysical sense.

Trump Artist

You may insert any card of your choosing into the Deck of Fate, for each chance you get to insert one. If it's an Arcana card… well, you better damn well know what will happen if it is drawn as the Final Veil.


	11. Chapter 11 - Constance

Constance, daughter of the Empress

So. Who are you?

This is the question that has plagued you since even before your father and mother died.

On one hand, you are a person, Constance, with feelings and a body. On the other hand, you are a part of a mythic destiny. The line of Amber is metaphysically important, and you are just one bit on its narrative. One damsel in its story.

Who are you? An independent entity, or a series of events in a grander pattern.

Are you a wave or a particle? Can a girl be dead and alive at the same time?

You don't just find this depressing, but also fascinating. Few of your siblings really study the elements of your primordial magic. Corruption appreciates it from an artistic, abstract point of view, and Dworkin created it, but that's about it. Neither _understands_ it. Neither would ever conduct experiments or use it to better the world.

The fact is, you don't work like most people. Most people are results of their culture and genetics, and can have short, forgettable, (happy) lives where they and their decisions are the masters of their destiny. But could you do that?

The entire cosmos supposedly depends on your family and your duties. If you tried to escape, would it snap you back? Or would it cruelly reveal you to be _not a real person_ , and instead one strand of one thread of an inhuman loom?

Questions, questions. And you've made great strides in studying them. Since the war, Bastion has mostly ignored you, and you've mostly ignored him and Serenity. That leaves Amber pretty empty of equals to interact with. Corruption sometimes talks to you, and Sette needs to be taken care of, but that still leaves a lot of time for pouring through the library or running experiments in the dungeons. You aim to find the particle mass of the soul and the wavelength of destiny. Such empiricism requires dedication, and costs.

It is not without its rewards. With knowledge comes power, and you are already a very clever sorceress. Who knows what you will be after your trial. And your family, though they fail to understand what you are doing, rather admire you for it. They know devotion and greatness when they see it. Your "science" will make you a legend, and they're proud of you for it.

You will have a great deal of political sway when you come of age. You disdain politics of course, but better to end these fights than become stuck in them and dominated by them.

Which brings you to the Pattern and your oncoming ceremony. You're rather looking forward to it. You've only ever studied the Pattern through story and recollection of others, but now you will get to investigate it very intimately. You'll spend an hour and a half running your fingers through the densest fabric of reality. You should learn much.

But you're even more interested in what you'll learn about yourself. This walk is a way to study and explore ideas about your soul and identity. Your great uncle Corwin even recovered his memory from the experience, and well, he wasn't half as observant as you are. You'll see all the potential future-Constances, and could triangulate what core you share in common. The possibilities are endless, and yet you will measure every one of them. After all, half of your dual existence is that in some way, the line of Amber *is* the Pattern. You will be exploring the maze of yourself.

Can you get lost? You detachedly wonder whether you will break. That would be fascinating indeed. It somewhat annoys you that your family intends to meddle and stack the deck in your favor. But they are part of Amber too, and their participation must be part of the experiment, if it is to have any validity at all.

Besides, plenty of time to run the experiment in a vacuum, without them present, later on. Once you are full in your power, there is plenty of time to do _many, many interesting things._

All from a question. Who are you?


End file.
